2022/2 Essay Writing

Noun Clauses

A noun clause is a clause that plays the role of a noun. For example (noun clauses shaded):

• I like what I see.

(Like all clauses, a noun clause has a subject and a verb. In this example, the subject of the clause is "I" and the verb is "see.")

• I know that patience has its limits.

(In this example, the subject of the clause is "patience" and the verb is "has.")

Compare the two examples above to these:

• I like innovation.
• I know people.

The words in bold are all nouns. This proves that the shaded clauses in the first two examples are functioning as nouns.